


Out of Concern

by LyriaBlackFrost



Series: Ryuji's Birthday 2020 [5]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Anxiety, Confessions, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 08:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24966712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyriaBlackFrost/pseuds/LyriaBlackFrost
Summary: The group manages to defeat a powerful shadow, and Futaba, taken by relief, accidentally lets her feelings for Ryuji overcome her good judgment.
Relationships: Sakamoto Ryuji/Sakura Futaba
Series: Ryuji's Birthday 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801777
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	Out of Concern

That battle in Mementos was taking a long time to come to an end. Shadows kept coming from everywhere, and when the group thought they were finally finished, a new one appeared. They soon realized it was invulnerable to magic, but it was difficult to get close enough to hit it, since its long limbs didn’t stop moving, ready to hit anyone who got close enough to it.

“What should we do?” asked Yusuke.

“I’m trying to find a blind spot,” answered Futaba. “Just hang on for a little longer!”

But that was easier said than done. That didn’t seem like a particularly strong shadow, but still, it would be stupid to approach it without thinking. More than once, they were taken by surprise by small, weak-looking shadows, and Futaba wasn’t willing to underestimate another one.

“I think it’s preparing a magic attack!” she yelled. “Be careful!”

As soon as she said that, the aura around the shadow changed, becoming much stronger than before. It turned to face Makoto, and Futaba felt her blood run cold.

“Queen, watch out!” she yelled.

Before the shadow could attack, Ryuji approached Makoto, pulling her close to his chest, shielding her with his back. Futaba had no more than a second to react, moved by nothing but pure fear, managing to conjure a barrier around Ryuji and Makoto before the shadow’s magic reached them. Noticing that they were safe, the rest of the group attacked the shadow, managing to quickly defeat it. Without thinking twice, Futaba got out of Necronomicon, looking at her two friends, concerned. Thankfully, they both seemed to be fine, moving away from each other with relieved expressions.

“Skull…” Makoto looked at him, quickly searching his body for any injuries. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…” he nodded. “Thanks to Oracle.”

Ryuji turned to face Futaba, a wide smile on his lips.

“Hey…” he said. “Thanks! You really saved my ass just—”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Futaba’s body seemed to move on its own. She closed the distance between them, then jumped, hugging Ryuji’s neck with both arms and kissing his lips. It didn’t last more than a second, just enough time for her brain to finally understand what she had done and quickly start to panic. She let go of Ryuji, moving away from him. Her gaze was on the ground, but she could feel everyone’s eyes on her.

“Holy shit…” muttered Akira.

Ann let out a weird, high-pitched noise. The others simply stared in shocked silence. She felt as if she was about to die.

“Good work today!” she said in a loud voice, _casually_ gesturing with her hand. “I’m going back first! See you later, nerds!”

Without wasting another second, she entered Necronomicon once again, flying her way back to the entrance as quickly as she could, wanting nothing but to get inside her bedroom and lock herself there until everyone forgot what had happened moments before.

* * *

Running away on her own soon proved to be a terrible idea.

She was dealing much better with being around people, thanks to her friends’ support, but being in a crowded train while already on the verge of panicking was nothing but a nightmare. She reached for her phone, quickly typing a message to Akira.

**Futaba: Akira help!**

**Futaba: Too many people.**

**Futaba: Can’t move.**

His answer came just a few seconds later.

_**Akira: Where are you?** _

She glanced at the map inside the train, typing the name of the nearest station.

_**Akira: Get out at the next station and find a quiet place to wait.** _

**_Akira: I’ll meet you there._ **

She did as he said, needing to make a big effort to move, telling herself there was nothing to be afraid of, despite knowing how useless it was to reason with her brain in such situations. She sat down on a hidden corner, closing her eyes, trying to keep her mind away from the situation. It seemed to take an eternity until she finally noticed someone crouching in front of her, opening her eyes. As she expected, it was Akira, offering her a kind, reassuring smile… What she didn’t expect was to see Ryuji there with him.

“Why is _he_ with you?” she asked in a loud voice.

“I was worried about you!” answered Ryuji. “You just ran away outta nowhere!”

She opened her mouth to protest, only to close it again when her stomach turned.

“This is bad…” she groaned. “I feel sick.”

“Do you need to use the restroom?” asked Akira.

“No…” she shook her head. “There’s just too many people, and too much noise.”

Akira and Ryuji exchanged a brief glance.

“Let’s go back, alright?” said Akira in a kind voice.

“Okay…” she muttered.

“Just keep your eyes low, we’ll guide you back.” Saying that, Ryuji reached for her headphones, placing them over her ears. “Here… Should help with the noise.”

“Ryuji…” she could her Morgana’s reproaching voice from inside Akira’s back. “Too close!”

His words made Ryuji take a step back, averting his gaze with an awkward, nervous laugh.

“Ah… sorry,” he said. “I should probably go—”

“No,” Akira interrupted him. “You’re coming with us.”

Futaba tried to protest, but the only thing that left her mouth was a small grunt. Akira offered her a reassuring smile, patting her head.

“It’ll be fine,” he said.

She hesitated, but ended up nodding in response, allowing them to guide her inside the train to Yongen-Jaya. There were two vacant seats, and she couldn’t hold back a small sigh of relief when Ryuji gestured for Akira to take the one beside her. Not that she wasn’t used to being close to him, but, at that moment, the proximity would probably kill her.

The music and having Akira close made her relax a little. She kept her eyes low, making an effort to forget that Ryuji was there with them, and probably still thinking about what she did. She tried to think of an excuse or explanation to give, but before she could find any, they arrived at her house.

“Here we are,” said Akira.

He stopped in front of the door, thinking for a moment. Futaba risked a glance at him, and their eyes met.

“How are you feeling?” he asked

“Better, I think.”

Akira nodded.

“You know…” he said. “I feel like you two should have a talk.”

The suggestion made her stomach turn again. She grabbed Akira’s arm with both hands.

“Please, don’t leave me alone with him…” she muttered.

As a response, he simply offered her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be at the Leblanc if you need me.” He lowered his voice. “And you know you need to do this, right?”

She wished that Akira was wrong just so she could yell at him.

“Yes…” she admitted.

Akira gently patted her head.

“It’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s just Ryuji.”

“That’s exactly the problem, and you know it,” she retorted under her breath.

“Don’t worry,” he insisted. “Just trust me, alright?”

She hesitated, but didn’t find the energy to keep discussing. She got inside her house with Ryuji silently following her. Inside her bedroom, she sat on her bed, with her back against the wall and knees bent against her chest. Ryuji sat on her chair, and a brief glance at his face made her realize that he was staring at the floor, seeming as uncomfortable as herself with the situation. It didn’t make her feel any better.

“So, Futaba…” he started to say after a while.

She looked at the door, instinctively thinking if she could reach it before Ryuji stopped her. Maybe she was too slow, or maybe Ryuji was already used to her way of thinking, because on the next moment he slid the chair closer to the door, blocking her escape route.

“Don’t even think about runnin’ away again!” he said in a serious voice.

Futaba groaned, hugging her knees.

“I’m too nervous…” she muttered. “I can’t do this.”

Ryuji looked at her for a while, then moved the chair just a little closer to the bed.

“Hey… It’s okay,” he said in a low, gentle voice. “Let’s just talk, alright?”

Futaba bit her lip, but ended up nodding.

“I acted without thinking…” she muttered after a while. “I got really scared for a minute, thinking you’d get hurt, and… when I saw you were fine, I don’t know what happened to me.”

Ryuji didn’t answer for a moment, and the silence worried her.

“Do you like me?” he asked.

That question made her groan.

“You really have to ask something like that?”

“Well, yeah.” Ryuji leaned in her direction, looking at her face. “I need to know.”

She hesitated for a while, but soon gave up on avoiding the truth, aware that it was already too late for that.

“Yes…” she said. “I have a stupid crush on you. I know it’s dumb, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Futaba didn’t know how she expected Ryuji to react, but he seemed strangely… _calm_ about all that.

“So…” he said. “It’s okay if I ask you out now?”

Those words finally made Futaba stare at him.

“Are you trying to be funny?” she asked.

“No, I’m serious.”

She narrowed her eyes, suspicious.

“Who asks something like that?”

Ryuji averted his gaze, and Futaba finally noticed some traces of anxiety on his face, and the way he couldn’t stay completely still, as if he was making a big effort to look confident. As weird as it could be, that realization calmed her down a little.

“Then, uh…” he said, hesitating a little. “You wanna go out with me?”

She could feel the error 404 in her brain, and was unable to do anything but stare at him with her mouth open.

“I don’t know…” she muttered under her breath. “Too much info to process…”

Her reaction made Ryuji let out a slightly nervous chuckle.

“Take your time,” he said.

She did, repeating his last words in her mind until they started to make some sense.

“Does that mean _you_ like me?” she asked, looking at him.

“Yeah,” admitted Ryuji. “A lot.”

Futaba blinked, unsure of what to do with that information.

“I had no idea,” she said.

“I could say the same to you,” answered Ryuji.

With some effort, her brain seemed to work again, and soon Akira’s insistence about the two of them talking seemed very suspicious.

“Wait…” she said. “Did you tell Akira?”

“Yeah, why?”

She had to hold back the urge to scream.

“That cursed traitor!” She grabbed her pillow, throwing it against the wardrobe’s door. “Why didn’t he tell me anything?”

Ryuji looked away, seeming embarrassed.

“‘Cause I asked him not to,” he admitted in a low voice.

“Then why didn’t he tell _you_ anything?” She made a pause, soon finding her answer. “Maybe because I asked him the same thing…”

A long, awkward silence filled the bedroom for the following minute.

“He was probably very frustrated with us,” commented Ryuji.

“Probably…”

Futaba raised her eyes, this time managing to look at Ryuji without feeling like she was about to die.

“But things are fine now, right?” she asked. “You… don’t regret asking me out, do you?”

“‘Course not!”

“Good…” she sighed, relieved. “That’s good… I need to lie down for a moment…”

“Wait a minute.”

She was confused by those words for a second. Ryuji left the chair, sitting beside her on the bed, then gestured for her to lie on his lap.

“Like this,” he said with a bright smile.

_And, once again, her heart seemed about to burst._

“I don’t know if I can do it,” she said.

“It’s fine if you don’t—”

“No!” she vehemently shook her head. “I’ll do it!”

Saying that, she took a deep breath and lied down with her head on Ryuji’s lap, her entire body getting tense.

“I can’t relax like this,” she said.

“Oh, sorry.”

“Don’t you dare move away!”

“Ah… sure?”

She looked up, meeting Ryuji’s confused gaze.

“Is this how it feels to go out with someone?” she asked. “How do people survive it?”

A small laugh left Ryuji’s lips.

“We’ll get used to it,” he said.

“I hope so…” She furrowed her brow, poking his thigh with a finger. “Your legs make a hard cushion… Not comfy at all.”

“Well, there ain’t much I can do about that,” answered Ryuji. “Want me to grab your pillow?”

“No, it’s fine like this.”

The response made him raise his eyebrow.

“Why are you complainin’, then?”

“Because that’s what I do,” answered Futaba. “You should be used to it by now.”

Ryuji shook his head, then placed a hand on her hair, gently caressing it.

“Yeah…” he said in a slightly amused tone. “I am.”

Somehow, it was enough to make her start to relax. She closed her eyes, a soft smile taking her lips as her anxiety, little by little, faded away under Ryuji’s gentle and warm touch.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!


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